Following a decade of remarkable growth in US strategies that integrate ESG criteria into their analysis and portfolio selection, the 2022 US SIF trends report released last month showed a significantly lower number of assets under management. While some may say this data suggests we have reached “peak ESG,” or that this is a rebuke … Read more
In Japan, governance will take centre stage as wages rise and regulatory governance reforms start to come into force. Yu Shimizu, fund manager of the SPARX Japan Sustainable Fund, said megabanks and major property companies have been reviewing their governance systems and strengthening their profit base despite the headwinds of the past 30 years. “Sustainability … Read more
In the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) launched an initiative to raise awareness with investors about its activities to mainstream climate action. A press release on September 23 announced a target to raise US $10 billion in World Bank Sustainable Development Bonds as part of the … Read more
Last year was highly eventful for ESG and the sustainable and responsible investing world. In the US, demand for ESG-themed funds continued to prove strong, despite the undeniable performance advantage of the energy sector in 2022. That short-term returns story gave ammunition to opponents of sustainable investing, with anti-ESG initiatives popping up in numerous states. … Read more
Touchstone Investments is preparing its fifth ETF, a product that would seek to invest in companies benefitting from “a transitioning climate environment”. The company filed an initial prospectus January 5 for the Touchstone Climate Transition ETF. The fund would seek out equity securities that the fund’s subadvisor, Lombard Odier Asset Management, sees as “leading the … Read more
Paul and Emile talk about themes to watch in 2023. Special guest Nell Minow, vice chair at ValueEdge Advisors, gives insight on corporate governance and the current state of ESG and the politics affecting it. Minow, who has a second career in film writing, talks about some of the similarities with governance, and she even … Read more
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has launched as plastic waste transition fund that targets UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 – responsible consumption and production. The AXA WF ACT Plastic & Waste Transition Equity QI fund, which is managed by AXA IM’s equity QI team, invests in large-, mid- and small-cap companies across developed and … Read more
The investment industry is asking the UK government to align its net-zero plans with that of the industry’s off the back of Conservative MP Chris Skidmore’s review. The former energy minister today published Mission Zero – Independent Review of Net Zero in which he urges the government to do more to engage with businesses on … Read more
European stock exchange group Euronext has launched a “trailblazing” index that invests only in SBF 120 companies that have 1.5°C Paris-aligned emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The CAC SBT 1.5° uses negative screening and SBTi data to identify companies and said it will “evolve to integrate new EU regulations … Read more
Sustainability experience at board level has jumped in the last six months, research by EY has found, as companies respond to investor demand for the knowledge among senior leadership. Just under a third (32%) of companies currently have board directors with professional experience or expertise in sustainability, the latest EY Boardroom Monitor found. While still … Read more